myFitApp has launched a new chat function to its streamed fitness content, making it easier to create workout communities online.

The tech firm, which markets itself as a hybrid business platform for club operators, will now allow users to ​​chat live with instructors, enabling them to ask questions. In return, instructors have the opportunity to offer feedback during and after the workout.

Users can also chat to other participants, a feature designed to increase member motivation by creating an experience as close to an in-studio class as possible.

‘Emoji storms’ within the chat solution will also give members the opportunity to provide interactions during workouts without having to type.

myFitApp said: "The chat function is the ultimate way to motivate members and strengthen loyalty.

"Our mission is to provide a member-first customer experience.

"The hybrid business platform allows gyms to transform their fitness business with an all-in-one marketing and commerce platform."

myFitApp was launched in 2011 by Innovatise – a company founded by Thomas Schuster – and allows facility operators to offer members the chance to attend fitness classes from home, either live or on-demand. More than 1,700 clubs currently use the solution.

Offering live, interactive chat within streamed fitness classes is an emerging trend.

Earlier this year, a new digital fitness platform, Bande, launched with a business model of providing intimate livestream and on-demand classes.

The platform utilises technology and social features – such as group chats, private voice messaging and a "friending" function – designed to encourage connections between members, their peers and Bande's instructors to "celebrate a feeling of togetherness" in a virtual world.